Champions of Middle Earth
by Elf Knight
Summary: After the war, Harry & Hermione investigate a strange phenomenon only to get unexpectedly whisked away to Middle-Earth where circumstances force them to join the Fellowhsip of the Ring. Can they work together to defeat this new Dark Lord? HarryXHermione
1. Chapter 1: Investigation

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I do not own the best fantasy series of all time.

**Author's Note:** Here I am again with another plot-bunny. After reading several fanfictions like so that didn't satisfy me, I decided to write one of my own. It will be far from perfect and the update speed will be slow but I'll try my best to write this as best as I can. Also, this will follow the LOTR's movies rather than the books although I might include one or two things in them from the novels. Well, enough said. Here it is, and I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 1:** Investigation

"You said that you felt a sudden burst of odd magic?" Harry Potter asked for probably the hundredth time.

Ever since he had defeated the Dark Lord Voldermort, The-Man-Who-Conquered had been flooded with job opportunities since they all wanted the Chosen One to work for them. Of course, Harry saw right through them and he really didn't need to work for a living since he was the Boy-Who-Lived and could live off that if anything. But he was also pretty rich since he had access to the Potter Vaults now along with the Black Vaults.

He wasn't the king of the world or anything, but he could live quite comfortably without getting a job. So it was that he had sifted through the job offers, only accepting part-time things that caught his fancy or that he felt genuinely needed his help. It was strange not having a shadow of doom hanging over him like it had throughout his school year and Harry felt almost bored.

But every now and then the unnatural Death Eater surface, or some odd job that no one could carry out fell on his shoulders and that was fine with him. That was why he was in the Department of Mysteries with his best friend Hermione Granger. It had been a long time since they had been together on any task for that matter, simply because she had been dating Ronald Weasley and been teaching Muggle Studies at Hogwarts.

However, Ron had finally gotten accepted on his favourite Quidditch team. Being a part of the Golden Trio, he had been able to use this to advantage and had finally made a name for himself. Needless to say, he had become quite popular amongst Quidditch fans somehow and had less and less time for Hermione. He had taken to signing autographs and going to medal award ceremonies which Hermione didn't fancy very much.

They had begun to argue more and more, spending less and less time with Harry. Normally he wouldn't mind so much but now he felt a little sad as he hadn't gotten back together with Ginny Weasley. He had meant to but had been procrastinating for some reason or another more and more frequently. He also stopped seeing her out of fear of her reaction and her brothers.

Ron was still upset that he broke up with her which was why they hadn't seen each other after some time due to an argument. Finally, Ron and Hermione broke up with Ron claiming that they weren't compatible enough. Hermione didn't mind so much anymore since she had begun to see that Ron was too caught up in his fame and popularity to care about what she wanted.

Harry did not know what to think about this when she told him the news. At first, he thought it would be the end of the Golden Trio. This would be extra hard since he had no real friends other than them as everyone else only saw him as the Chosen One and the Man-Who-Conquered. Not wanting to lose Hermione's friendship, he quickly offered her to accompany him on his latest job. To his pleasant surprise and relief, she agreed quickly and now they were walking the Department of Mysteries with one of the Unspeakables.

"Yes, sir," The Unspeakable replied. "It spread over the entire Ministry of Magic and I could have sworn it did over the entire Wizarding World, in Britain at least. Devices we use here in the Ministry to track legal and illegal uses of magic went wild and some even broke. A few creatures we keep here went crazy as well. This blast of magic is unprecedented in all of history."

"But then surely you would need someone of a higher expertise?" Hermione asked in confusion.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I mean. I'm no Dumledore and barely passed my NEWTS."

"Nonsense!" The Unspeakable said, although a trifle flustered. "You are the only one we trust with this since there are still a few renegade Death Eaters left and only Merlin knows what they would do to gain revenge for the death of their Dark Lord."

"I'm sure he does," Harry muttered sarcastically.

Hermione smirked at his comment, making him stifle a grin.

"Well, here we are," The Unspeakable said.

As soon as the trio stopped in front of the high-arched doorway, Harry got a very bad feeling. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt as if something was abnormal – for lack of a better term – beyond those doors. His breathing quickened and he actually took a step back.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione asked, glancing up at him with evident concern in her brown eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry lied.

But in actuality he wasn't for his instincts were telling him to get the hell away from this place while his adventurous self was screaming at him to go forward.

"Let's just go, shall we?" He asked thickly.

Hermione nodded, worry still etched on her face. Harry felt better though, knowing that Hermione still cared for him even if no one did.

"Right this way then," The Unspeakable said.

Chanting some a number of odd spells, he pulled out a small and delicate-looking key which he swiped against the lock like a security card in an office building. Of course, Harry thought this odd since he didn't unlock it normally but security cards seemed much more practical he reasoned. Whatever the case, the doors swung open with a creaky groan.

Harry gasped and Hermione's grip tightened on his arm, her eyes flying wide open. They were at the Space Chamber. While none of them had ever seen it before, and few others had, rumour had it that it was an actual stimulation – as real as it could get – of outer space. All the planets were faintly visible as well as the Milky Way and, of course, the Sun. While they stepped forward cautiously in what looked like the universe, Harry felt an oddly pleasant feeling like he was floating in the air.

Curious, he turned his gaze to the Unspeakable who was looking at another direction in the peculiar room .

"Why are we here?" He asked. "I thought you'd take us to the tracking device room."

"We did too," The Unspeakable said, referencing to the other Ministry officials. "But when each room was checked only this chamber in the Department of Mysteries seemed to be at fault."

"How?" Hermione demanded.

Despite their very strange surroundings, Harry was unable to suppress a grin when she said that for he saw that she had already taken out a tattered notebook and pen. No duh, she would be jotting down notes. That was so like Hermione. They should probably stop by the Hogwarts Library next!

"That is our only explanation," The Unspeakable said flatly.

Noticing a look of fear in his eyes, Harry turned to where a crooked finger was pointed off into the distance and gapped in surprise. He stared in awe and wonder at what appeared to be a gigantic funnel or tunnel of some sort. He had a hard time describing it, but it was a peculiar yet entrancing mixture of red and white.

The colours were alive and vibrant, swirling around constantly like a horizontal whirlpool with a gapping blackness at the other end. Whatever the thing was went very narrow and thin at the end of it before branching off into a seemingly identical whirlpool going in the opposite direction. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and the strangest thing about it was that he felt a tug of powerful magic emanating from it.

"What in Merlin's balls is that thing?" Harry managed, tearing his eyes away from the phenomenon.

For once Hermione didn't care to reprimand him about language, since she was scribbling down notes like rapid fire on her notepad. Harry began to wonder how long it would be until her pencil snapped. But his attention was drawn back to reality by the Unspeakable who answered his question as if it was the end of the world.

"That, sir, is a Wormhole," The Unspeakable said.

"What?" Harry asked. "It's in no relation to Wormtail is it?"

"No, silly!" Hermione huffed, finally looking up from her work. "A wormhole is a very rare aspect of nature that is similar to a Black Hole."

"Huh?" Harry asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Hermione gave a long suffering sigh and rolled her eyes.

"A Black Hole is made of antimatter in Outer Space," She explained. "Almost every galaxy has at least one and they are very destructible. I think they are dead stars or something, but I do know that they eat up everything in their path which cannot escape from them. Even light and time get swallowed up by Black Holes."

"Sounds freaky," Harry shuddered, inching away from the wormhole.

"Indeed," The Unspeakable nodded. "However, a wormhole is different and not many people know about that. Wormholes are said to connect one universe to another for a short period of time. Normally, they are very small and can't be seen by the human eye. But Muggle scientists theorise that wormholes, if enlarged properly, can be used to transport spaceships to the alternate universe."

"I fail to see how this is a problem," Harry admitted, now thoroughly confused.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "If these are so rare than surely this is a good thing, something that can be used for the betterment of mankind, right?"

"And that leads to our predicament," The Unspeakable replied. "You see all this?"

When he gestured all about them, Harry and Hermione nodded.

"This Space Chamber is simply a stimulation of Outer Space," The Unspeakable said. "It is not real even though magic makes you feel as if you are floating through it. Not even wizards can survive in Outer Space due to the lack of oxygen so none of this would be possible."

Hermione's eyes narrowed in concentration and then widened as she joined the dots quickly.

"You mean..." She interjected.

"Yes," The Unspeakable agreed, nodding in approval. "This wormhole appeared out of nowhere at the same time as the blast of magic occurred."

"What?" Harry asked. "I thought you said this was just a stimulation."

"I did," The Unspeakable replied. "That's the problem. This wormhole shouldn't have been here. It should not exist and yet it did."

"So?" Harry prompted, feeling more and more nervous by the second.

To make matters worse he was feeling an odd tug in his gut like he was being pulled _towards_ something.

"Did you feel that?" The Unspeakable asked sharply, a look of panic flaring in his eyes.

"Yeah," Harry gulped, feeling the tug in his gut grow all the strong.

It felt similar to when they would Apparatate.

"Harry, I have a bad feeling about this," Hermione whispered, struggling against the invisible force.

"Let's get out of here!" Harry agreed.

But it was too late. Frantic, the Unspeakable had let out a string of spells and curses with his wand at the wormhole in hopes of shutting it down or disabling the Space Chamber. Nothing worked and the wormhole only grew larger with a strange wiring noise as if insane.

"Harry, run!" Hermione cried, pushing him aside as the wormhole drew near them.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Harry shot back.

No sooner had he said those words then there was a brilliant flash of white light followed shortly by a terrific bang. Harry's was flung backwards, barely able to catch Hermione as he did so. His whole body felt like it was on fire and his back ached, but he held onto Hermione for dear life and she did the same. The two young people watched in horror as the wormhole sped towards them at an alarming speed, growing larger and larger every second. Finally it swallowed them up in a flurry of flashing lights and darkness.

_I hope Hermione's okay,_ Was the last thing Harry thought before everything went black.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **In case this was slightly confusing for some people, basically Harry and Hermione got swallowed up by a giant wormhole. Sadly, I am not so knowledgeable in these matters so things might have been slightly confusing. Still, the wormhole – as you have probably guessed – transported them to Middle-Earth.

I hope it was slightly more inventive as opposed to collapsing on the sidewalk or getting sucked into the LOTR's book. And before anyone asks, there will be no slash or weird pairings. This is a HarryXHermione story with canon pairings for the LOTR's. Things will be different in this fanfic, but I'll try not to make it too far-fetched. And as always ~

~ Stay tuned for more!


	2. Chapter 2: Another Adventure

**Disclaimer:** All things Tolkien belong to Tolkien, enough said!

**Author's Note:** First off I would like to thank everyone for your support! I really do appreciate it. As for the Unspeakable, I'm not sure if he got taken through the wormhole and he might have. I never really thought about him. Still, it gave me a pretty cool idea so thanks for that as I might use it for this story sometime soon. Next, I am awfully sorry for the delay. The thing is I was trying to make it original and not just a Harry Potter character takes over the books.

Then he carries out the roles of some guy (usually Aragorn) from the movies, which is really kind of dumb and pointless. In light of that, while I am sticking to movie-verse mainly this first chapter is book-verse and is set during the Hunt for Gollum when Gandalf feared Gollum would talk about the Ring and sent Aragorn after him. Only in this fanfic, Gandalf accompanies him. Some of the events are slightly tweaked, but I'll try to keep it as canon as possible. Then again, this is a fanfic so things will be different. So without further ado, I present you the next episode!

**Chapter 2:** Another Adventure

When Harry Potter came to, he lay on his back on a forest floor full of leaves and twigs and pebbles. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open. His whole body ached and he had the profound feeling that he had just been rammed into by one of a double-decker bus.

When his eyes finally opened, he gasped for breath and found himself staring at a cool blue sky with white clouds floating across it lazily. Turning his head this way and that, he could see fresh pine trees all about him and thought he heard a trickle of water from some sort of stream or river nearby.

_Where am I?_ He wondered.

The last thing he remembered was being with his best friend in the world – Hermione Granger – and checking out a mysterious magical surge in the Department of Mysteries. They had entered the Space Chamber, talked about the wormhole, black holes, and his mind went blank.

He briefly recalled some sort of tugging sensation in his gut and let out a groan of pain. Wanting to get a better look at his surroundings, he inched upwards into a sitting position only to feel a dead weight on his chest.

At first he panicked wondering if something had gone wrong and he was crushed, maybe in a car crash? They were pretty common in the Muggle World. His bloodshot eyes darted about frantically and he felt slightly nauseous for some reason. It was only then that the weight took on the shape of a person sleeping on his chest.

But who?

Glancing down warily, a wave of relief washed over him to see that it was only Hermione cuddled against his chest sleeping soundly with a peaceful smile. Harry sighed and let his body relax. For now, they were alone in these woods. He had no idea how they got here or where they were, but for the time being he could forget about that.

He merely watched Hermione as she slept, absentmindedly tucking a stray curl of hair behind her ears. She looked so calm, so peaceful that it made his heart yearn to have that feeling. He could never stay so calm. True she had just passed out from the wormhole or wherever it was, but even in this crazy situation she could still have a smile on her face.

Harry himself was unable to resist a wry grin that tugged at his lips, while he held the sleeping beauty. Wait... _Sleeping beauty?_ His eyes flew open in terror. This was Hermione Jean Granger he was talking about – his best friend! She wasn't girlfriend material.

While he could not deny the truth that if he wasn't Harry Potter he would probably fancy her, Hermione would hex him within an inch of his life if she found out. She was still getting over her breakup with Ron and Harry was supposed to be getting back together with Ginny Weasley.

What in damnation was going on with him? Trying to calm himself down, he closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath only to burst into a sputtering coughing fit. The air smelt..._wrong_. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was an evil in the air that he could describe as darkness.

It was worse and more vile than when he fought Voldermort and the Death Eaters because at least those fiends were humans, or a shred of humanity. Whatever the case, this evil felt more ancient and dark than anything he had ever experienced before.

The only thing perhaps that matched up to it was those monsters in that lake which guarded the fake locket. He couldn't see the monsters yet, but he felt their presence. It was most strange like his magic was warning him of their arrival, warning him that if he didn't get up now things would be bad.

Panicking slightly, he struggled to wake up Hermione but nothing worked. Breathing quickly, he placed her gently on the ground and searched his robes to see if he still had his wand on him. Luckily enough, it had survived the wormhole and he yanked it out, clutching onto it tightly like a lifesaver.

Its familiar feeling of magic calmed him, sending him a sense of relief and strength. Taking another deep breath, he turned around to face the evil that he felt was swarming to him. And then he saw it. Several hulking shapes were pouring through the woods at an alarming pace.

They were on foot but swift as a Quidditch Seeker. The newcomers were an inky black with a white hand painted on their faces. Their eyes were a blood red and their lips were pulled back in a feral snarl revealing rows of jagged, unnatural fangs.

Claws protruded out of their fingertips and they were much bigger than normal humans. They wore strange, mismatched leather armour and some crude iron breastplates. The creatures all had long hair that was either pulled into a braid or flew loose.

They were snarling and growling like dogs and clutched crude iron swords and clubs. They had a prisoner in the midst of them, a short and slimy thing that could only be described as what Doleres Umbridge would look like as a House-elf except with normal ears.

It was not a woman though but some kind of male freak of nature. Thankfully, it wore a tattered loincloth, preventing Harry from getting more scarred than he already was. The creature was in chains and shrieking like a mad thing against the brutal might of the other creatures who hadn't seemed to sense him yet. Suddenly, they stopped just as Harry ducked behind a tree. Hermione had been hidden behind some bushes so she was safe for the moment.

Glancing over his shoulder furtively and clutching his wand, Harry could see one of the creatures – probably the leader – raise up his hand for silence. He sniffed the air as if searching for something and Harry fought against a sinking feeling of dread that welled up within the pit of his stomach.

"What have you found, chief?" One of the other creatures asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Silence!" The chief barked, his eyes darting about this way and that. "I sense a man nearby, and a wench with him. Two more men are approaching swiftly."

"A wench?" One of the creatures asked in a snivelling tone, much like Wormtail had to Voldermort. Harry grimaced in disgust as the same creature made an all-to-eager slurping sound. "Can we eat the wench?"

"No!" The creature said. "We must take our charge to Lord Sauron as commanded. He told us not to delay."

"But I'm so hungry," The snivelling creature whined pathetically. "It is bright too, too much sun."

"Shut up!" The chief roared. "The two men coming here are armed and one stinks of magic. We have tarried here far too long. Let's go!"

The snivelling creature grumbled some more and they were just about to move on, when Harry's magic reacted within him. Unable to stop himself, he spun out from behind the tree lashing out with his wand.

"_Stupefy!"_ He cried, striking the snivelling creature in the chest. _"Stupefy! Stupefy!"_

The creatures roared in anger and dropped their charge which fell to the ground whimpering in pain. They surged forward but Harry was swift and several more _stupefies_ later, all the creatures had fallen to the ground stunned and unmoving.

Panting for breath, Harry leaned his hands on his knees closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Suddenly, an angry roar made him yelp and he spun around only to come face to face with one last creature who was about to attack him from behind.

Just as he was about to let out another spell, the creature raised his sword with a depraved grin but stopped. Harry's jaw dropped as another sword protruded from the creature's stomach. Black blood splashed all over Harry as the sword withdrew and the creature collapsed to the ground.

Bile rose to Harry's throat and he had to take several calming breaths before he realised that someone else was standing before him. Thankfully, he was saved from having to use more magic for the newcomer was a man and he raised his hand gently in a gesture of peace.

Heaving a shuddering sigh, Harry nodded faintly and sank to the ground. Nodding his head as if understanding his plight, the man stooped to wipe his sword on the grass. Harry watched him curiously as the man bent his knee checking the fallen creatures as if looking for something.

He also noted the fury in the man's eyes and the vivid disgust, realising that he should never ever work with these beasts if he wanted to get information from the man. The man himself looked rather ordinary, or as ordinary as anyone would get around here.

He wore a mottled gray and green cloak with a hood thrown against his back. Underneath his cloak, he wore black travelling clothes and had a scabbard attached to his belt. He wore thick boots and carried a small pack over his shoulder.

The stranger carried his sword with such a casual ease that Harry knew he was a warrior. Finally, the man stopped looking through the dead bodies and turned to the prisoner who was cowering in fear and muttering something about a precious under his breath.

"Aragorn!" An older man called out. "Aragorn, what have you found?"

"Orcs!" The stranger, who Harry assumed was this Aragorn, replied looking to his right. "And Gollum."

"And who cast that magic, pray tell," Said the old man. "I never thought you to be a wizard."

_Oh, great!_ Harry sighed as he saw who was coming. _Not another Dumledore!_

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N:** So how did you like the action scene? Sadly, I am not too good with spells and potions and stuff. I have to rely on the Internet to get all that info but my Internet wasn't working right now so Stupefy was the only spell I could remember. Also, the reason why Harry didn't kill Gollum was since he thought he was a prisoner.

Besides, he's new here and needs information. Gollum didn't run away because he was in chains and knew that either Harry or Aragorn or Gandalf would catch up to him. Anyhow, that about sums it up for now. Moving on, I greatly value your insight as it is imperative to the betterment of this story. So don't forget to leave a review even if you think this is the worst story ever.

And stay tuned for more!

P.S. Aragorn hasn't forgotten about Harry just yet, and they will have a confrontation in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3: Caught in the Crossfire

**Disclaimer:** Nothing is owned by me – end of story.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks so much, guys for your freaking awesome reviews! I really appreciate the interest you are showing this story even if it's pretty basic so far. As you can imagine, these chapters are pretty much fillers since Harry just got to Middle-Earth. This story is also set 17 years (if I remember correctly) prior to the time when the Fellowship of the Ring was formed.

Even so, the War of the Ring and the quest to destroy the One Ring will take place, albeit slightly earlier than intended. There will still be a war because things will be different and while the Fellowship might not be formed all the characters of the LOTR's will play their part some way or another. Now that that's out of the way, I present you the next chapter of my story!

**Chapter 3:** Caught in the Crossfire

_Previously on Champions of Middle-Earth..._

... "Aragorn!" An older man called out. "Aragorn, what have you found?"

"Orcs!" The stranger, who Harry assumed was this Aragorn, replied looking to his right. "And Gollum."

"And who cast that magic, pray tell," Said the old man. "I never thought you to be a wizard."

_Oh, great!_ Harry sighed as he saw who was coming. _Not another Dumledore!_

~ Now in Chapter Six ~

Harry's heart sank as he saw what looked like a grander and older version of Albus Dumledore, if that was at all possible. He was a man of medium height and neither strong nor thin. He wore a simply brown robe with wide sleeves and pointed shoes.

A broad-rimmed, pointed hat sat on his head and he boasted a long grey, near silver beard, although it was free-flowing unlike Dumledore's.

His hair fell to his shoulders and two intense grey eyes peered out at him from underneath bushy grey eyebrows.

The old man leaned on a gnarled oaken staff with a peculiar-looking curl at the end of it. But no matter how pathetic his walking stick looked, Harry sensed strong magic residing in it and knew immediately that this old man was a very powerful wizard. What's more, he seemed to be a companion and friend of the warrior and that was saying something, for the warrior had just saved his life.

_Why does it always have to be old manipulating men?_ Harry thought, clenching his fists in exasperation.

"You!" The old man said suddenly, his voice grim and surprised. "You are not supposed to be here!" 

"What do you mean?" Harry stammered, completely caught off-guard.

"You do not belong in this world," The old wizard said. "It is against the laws of nature for that to happen."

"Oh yeah?" Harry asked, frustrated. "Well then how so because my friend is here too!"

The old man huffed and glanced worriedly at the warrior.

"Is it true then?" The warrior called Aragorn asked. "Are you really from another world?"

Harry heaved a sigh. Why couldn't he just get a dammed break already? Must his fame always plague him!

"Yeah," He muttered dryly. "You could say that. What is this place anyways and who lives here?"

"This place is known as Middle-Earth for lack of a better term," The old man explained. "It is populated by elves, men, dwarves, wizards, hobbits, ents, goblins, orcs, and worse foes."

"Some fairy tale!" Harry quipped sarcastically.

If he had not seen those orcs or had been any younger, he would have said something nasty to the old man. But he had seen the wormhole and there was something about the air that felt more alive and fresh than back home in England. Everything here looked more vibrant and lush than in the Wizarding World even, so much so that he had to believe him. Then there were those disgusting creatures.

"What about them?" Harry asked, pointing to the fallen orcs. "What are those?"

"Orcs," Aragorn replied, his voice tainted by disgust. "They are sickening creatures bred by darkness for the sole purpose of killing and destroying. They hate the light and all things that walk, live, and breathe under it. It is very rare for them to come in a pack like this during broad daylight so we can only assume they are under the command of some higher powers that forced them to do so."

"Higher powers," Harry said warily, recalling the orcs' conversation. "One of them said something about some Lord Sauron, their chief I think. I got the opinion that they weren't too satisfied under his command though."

Harry's heart sank even further when he saw a look of dread pass between Aragorn and the old man. He hated it when people shared 'that look' without telling him what it was about.

"Sauron," The old man said grimly. "Is a wizard fallen from grace. I would tell you more but we do not know who you are or why you are here. You could be a spy but then why would you kill those orcs?"

"Um, to gain your confidence and respect?" Harry offered uncertainly.

"Indeed," Aragorn said, nodding his head appraisingly. "That is why we can only determine your guilt if we take you to a true seer."

"Prophecy?" Harry asked warily.

He hated the stuff. It had manipulated the better part of his life forcing him to get locked in a cupboard under the stairs and live with abusive relatives. He actually died because of prophecy.

"Not quite," The old man smiled, with an all-too familiar twinkle in his eyes as if reading Harry's thoughts. "We must visit a certain Elf lady named Galadriel. She, if anyone, will be able to see if you are under Sauron's command."

"And why would you want to find that out?" Harry asked sceptically. "You just met me and for all you know I could have been a con man or something."

"True," The old man said. "But liars and thieves don't just get such tremendous power like you wielded not long ago. They would not use it against orcs but for their own purposes. There are dark times ahead and we need all the help we can get. With power like that..."

"Listen," Harry said, clenching his fists to keep from shouting. "You might not believe me but I just came out of another war against a Dark Lord from my home world. I don't want to get involved in a new battle in a world I know nothing about. I just want to get home."

"Again, the elf I have in mind would be the only person capable of that," The old man replied, unfazed. "It would be wise to accompany us if you wish to return to your world let alone survive in this new place. I may not believe you but your magic – and I can sense it within you – speaks enough for yourself."

Harry hesitated a moment as a myriad of thoughts flashed throughout his mind, each struggling for supremacy. Finally, he gave up knowing the old man spoke the truth.

"Fine," He relented, letting his shoulders sag. "But first I need help. My friend is sleeping or unconscious. I can't wake her up and she is the brightest woman on my home world. She, if anyone, could make sense of this situation."

"Very well," The old man agreed. "But I feel it would be easier to introduce ourselves before moving on."

"Agreed," Harry said, nodding in approval.

"I am known as Gandalf the Grey," The old man smiled. "And this is my companion and friend Aragorn, although we usually call him Strider."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement. "A pleasure to meet you, Gandalf, Strider. My name is Harry James Potter."

"Nice to meet you, Potter," Aragorn said, shaking Harry's outstretched hand.

Harry was so relieved that no one gasped at his name so he couldn't help but crack a grin.

"Please," He said. "For now, it's just Harry."

Aragorn nodded and Harry led the two companions to where he had hidden Hermione from the orcs. He felt a pang of guilt and sorrow at seeing her lying there, helpless and alone and quickly gathered her into his arms while the other two men kneeled down.

Gandalf pushed back some of his hair from his face and leaned on his staff. The old wizard closed his eyes and muttered some words under his breath while placing a hand over her forehead. After a short while, he gave a shuddering sigh and opened his eyes. He removed his hand and looked grimly at Harry.

"I am sorry," He said. "There is only one force on this earth powerful enough to inflict such an injury and yet this is more powerful than that."

"What?" Harry panicked, his eyes widening in alarm.

"Aye," Gandalf said, and Harry could see genuine sorrow in his eyes. "A creature roams the earth called the Nazgul commonly known as the Black Riders or Ring Wraiths. Fell beasts, the Nazgul wear dark armour and ride black steeds. They were once great kings of men but each were given a Ring of Power.

"Unbeknownst to them, another Ring was forged by the same wizard who forged the nine rings for the nine kings. In this ring, he poured all his malice and cruelty for he was pure evil and only wished to use the nine kings as slaves. This became the One Ring and transformed the nine kings of men into the Nazgul. They are now wraiths of shadow only visible due to their armour.

"They can inflict powerful wounds that can only be cured by a rare few. One of those healers, I know and is an old friend of mine. His name is Elrond and he is an Elf Lord who resides in Rivendell. The Lady Galadriel's domain is on the way to his kingdom. I am sorry, Harry but that is the only place where your friend can be cured."

_Great! _Harry sighed. _Just great!_

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N:** Yay, another filler chapter is out of the way! We can move onto the action soon. I just thought to make things a little tough for them since it's always so easy. It won't be too difficult though otherwise that would be just depressing. Anyhow, there is chapter three for you and more is on the way.

Once again, I greatly value your feedback and really look forward to your reviews. I haven't read the LOTR's books in a while so do forgive me if the characters are OOC. Have they revealed too much? Has Harry agreed to go with them too quickly? Any advice, suggestions, and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

~ Elf Knight ~


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